Entries by Kenneth P. Green

BC Hydro's planned project for a hydroelectric dam on the Peace River -- known as the Site C dam -- is proving to be controversial, with some industry groups panning the plan while touting renewable energy sources such as wind. One wind energy champion recently claimed "it would...

The Vancouver Mayor's Council on Regional Transportation has an ambitious 30-year vision (starting with a 10-year plan) that would dramatically expand mass transit in Vancouver by increasing bus service (including carrying capacity, frequency and service areas), increasing Sea Bus service, upgrading light rail lines and stations,...

Four recent oil-train derailments--two in the United States and two in Canada accompanied by yet another drive-by rhetorical smear of the Keystone XL pipeline by U.S. President Barack Obama--have re-invigorated the debate over how Canadians and Americans transport oil. The most recent spills and explosions in Illinois, West...

On Feb. 24, President Barack Obama vetoed Senate Bill 1, a.k.a. "The Keystone XL Pipeline Approval Act." Mr. Obama's action was not only predictable, it was virtually inevitable given a) the political polarization in the United States; b) unrelenting environmental opposition to the pipeline; and c)...

Canada's largest cities are growing rapidly and what were once sparsely populated rural areas are quickly becoming city neighbourhoods. Driving north of Toronto brings you through cities like Vaughan and Brampton, which have more than doubled in population since 1991. This urban growth accompanies a concentration of prosperity...

New Brunswick Premier Brian Gallant seems poised to follow through on a campaign promise to institute a moratorium on hydraulic fracturing. News reports suggest he'll implement that moratorium before Christmas. Quite a lump of coal for the people of his province in need of additional jobs and higher...

Carbon taxes are back on centre stage in Canada, after a new "bipartisan" Ecofiscal Commission came out in favour of the idea. Ontario Premier Kathleen Wynne is also talking about carbon taxes as is Quebec Premier Philippe Couillard. That makes this an opportune time to review...

Environmentalists received an early Christmas present on Nov. 12, when President Barack Obama and China's President Xi Jinping issued a "joint announcement" over the control of greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions in the United States and China. The announcement ostensibly establishes a hard target for China's GHG emission trajectory...

The United Nations Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change has released its latest "Synthesis Report" drawing together the findings of the most recent three-volume set of the Fifth Assessment Report. The Assessment Report is meant to be the last word -- at least until the next omnibus review is...

Since taking office in mid-September, Alberta's new Premier Jim Prentice has talked an active game on the energy file. From the perspective of those who believe that Canada's energy exports are vital to the country's economic health, many of his comments seem positive.

Nova Scotia's government recently announced it would table legislation to establish a moratorium on the practice of hydraulic fracturing (or "fracking") for the production of natural gas in the province. The ban, which follows a lengthy report on the safety of hydraulic fracturing, is indefinite, but not permanent. (One is...

In the wake of the Lac-Mégantic oil-by-rail disaster, when a train carrying crude oil from North Dakota's Bakken field exploded in Quebec, some people began to characterize Bakken crude oil as "uniquely flammable," with an implication that new rail car standards might be required to move the material. U.S. Transportation...

The pictures coming out of northern British Columbia where the Mount Polley mine tailings pond ruptured on Aug. 4 are painful to see. The fact that the site is remote, and that only a small number of people are likely to be directly affected doesn't mitigate the visceral...

The University of Calgary's School of Public Policy has put out an important report that sheds light on an under-discussed dimension of Canada's energy export challenge: the time factor. At this point, most people (we hope) are aware that Canada faces physical bottlenecks in the transport of its...

Recently, Green Party leader Elizabeth May orchestrated an open letter to United States Secretary of State John Kerry, urging the U.S. to reject the Keystone XL pipeline. In her note, Ms. May states that she sent Mr. Kerry "4 facts about Keystone XL." Unfortunately, two of Ms. May's...